First on the Scene

Writing a clear chart with your own music-shorthand
notes around the chords will enable you to play
confidently without really knowing a particular song.

During my years playing in bars, I
would often go out to watch friends
play on my nights off and inevitably get
invited onstage to sit in and play with them.
But when you sit in with a band to play
songs they know—songs you might not be
familiar with—the situation can get hairy
quickly. On the occasions I’d tell my friends
that I wasn’t too familiar with a song, they’d
always say: “Man, you have great ears, you’ll
be able to follow, no problem.”

Herein lies the problem: As a bassist—when playing an actual song (not just jamming)—we can never follow! Our primary
job is to always lead, and lead confidently. We
can’t wait a millisecond and come in on the
second eighth-note of a bar if we are unsure
of the changes, and “get by” like a guitarist
or keyboardist is able to do when they aren’t
100 percent sure of what they are doing.
That latency and attitude is just not a luxury
afforded to us bass players. In almost every
genre of music with a set song form, we will
set up the next chord with a bass line or a
walk leading into it. Other players are supposed
to be able to follow us. We set up chord
changes like drummers set up sections of a
song with fill. It is one of our primary functions.
We always have to be first on the scene.

To be able to do this with confidence
on every chord change and arrangement
twist—even without truly knowing the song
in question—you need to really refine your
note-taking skills so you can perform a given
song after hearing it only once or twice. By
doing this, you will be able to grasp the broad
strokes of a song and nail a few of the details
without the luxury of adequate time to really
learn the particular song. And I am not only
talking about the number system we use here
in Nashville. (If you are interested, there are
several books and articles that explain the
Nashville Number System very well.) I am
talking about the notes around the chords.
The system I use for these notes is very personal
and the purpose of this column is to
share examples of how I use it. Hopefully, you
will be inspired to use whatever symbols or
words that best enable your brain to
recall the information in the absolute
quickest way. So feel free to make up
your own shorthand.

Section length. For starters, I label
every section (verse, pre-chorus, chorus,
bridge, etc.) on my chart or “cheat
sheet” on the left-hand side of the page
and underline them. By doing this, I’ll
clearly know where sections begin and
end, which enables me to confidently
lead the band into the next section.

Rhythmical pattern. Right
under the name of the section will
be my “groove indicator.” This is of
tremendous importance, since it’s
very common in popular music to
have different kick-drum and bass patterns
from section to section. For example, if the
kick-drum hits are on beat 1, on the and of
beat 2, and on beat 3, I write “heart.” This
is short for heartbeat, which is slang for
perhaps the most common kick-drum pattern
ever. The next section may have steady
eighth-notes—most often seen in choruses—
so I will write two eighth-notes in front
of the section on my sheet. Another very
common pattern, especially for verses, is the
kick drum on beat 1 and the and of beat 2.
I call it “push groove” and label it “push.”

Range/neck location. As a bassist, the
octave placement of a section is a very
important element in making one section
“pop” from another, and I have three very
general octave descriptions: low, middle,
and high. I use these terms to describe
exactly where on the neck a particular part
is played. For example, a song in the key of
E might have the verse based around the
E located on the 7th fret of the 3rd string,
while the chorus of the same song might
drop down to the open E on the 4th string.

Signature line direction. For those
signature walk ups or walk downs that
occur in many songs, I simply write “W.U”
or “W.D” on my chart. Doing this helps
tremendously with giving direction to the
chord progression in the spots where people
expect to hear it. I play a fair amount of
country/pop, so these two abbreviations
show up a lot on my sheets for that genre.

Amount of notes. To direct me to the
correct liveliness, or amount of notes in a
bass line, I use a different terminology. For
example, the last of the double choruses in
a song may have a busier bass pattern, so I
comment “busier” under that line of chords.
During breakdowns, the bass will often add
some melodic content played above the
12th fret. If you are learning a song quickly,
the term “high melody” will get you in the
ballpark without having to learn all the high,
solo-like notes in that section note-for-note.

In order to use this technique efficiently,
good ears are required. That said, the people
that gave you the song to check out just 10
minutes earlier will think you have amazing
ears when they hear you play it. Once you
start coming up with your own shorthand
and “cheat” notes, you can plow through a
lot of material very quickly, while still staying
true to the recording in many of the
important areas. Developing an efficient
notation technique is no replacement for
learning to read and write music properly,
but it’s still a very necessary and fun tool.

Victor Brodén
Nashville bassist and producer Victor Brodén
has toured and recorded
with more than 25 major-label
artists, including
LeAnn Rimes, Richard
Marx, Casting Crowns, and Randy Houser.
His credits also include Grammy-winning
albums and numerous television specials
on CMT and GAC, as well as performances
on The Tonight Show and The Ellen
DeGeneres Show. You can reach him at
vbroden@yahoo.com.

Victor Brodén is a Nashville bassist and producer who has toured and recorded with more than 25 major-label artists, including LeAnn Rimes, Richard Marx, Casting Crowns, and Randy Houser. His credits also include Grammy-winning albums and numerous television specials on CMT and GAC, as well as performances on The Tonight Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. You can reach him at vbroden@yahoo.com.

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